July 9-15: loneliness, lionesses, deep chats & dancefloors
This week we dance, we talk, we cheer, we create. Come out and join in.
Hey Peckham!
This edition’s a proper mixed bag, just like our hood. From quiet chats about loneliness to pubs buzzing with football fans, there’s a lot going on.
We’re spotlighting Carla Prata at Peckham Audio, getting a first look at CLF Art Lounge’s new rooftop venue, and digging into the deeper stuff like gentrification, and how we stay connected through it all.
Peckham’s not staying still this July, and neither should you.
In this #2 edition:
💛 What does loneliness feel like?
🥁 Carla Prata at Peckham Audio
🎶 The South London Soul Train at new CLF Art Lounge venue
🎓 Prince of Peckham University opens next week
⚽ Where to Watch the UEFA Women’s Euros
📸 Summer in South London is ON
🖼️ Beyond Peckham: Fran Giffard at REJECTS
📽️ Peckhamplex picks – what’s on this week
1 💛 Let’s talk about loneliness
Local portrait photographer Julia Hawkins has spent years listening to 80+ people talk about what loneliness feels like, and how we find connection or comfort in solitude.
Tomorrow, she teams up with creative facilitator Alec Leggat for Sharing Loneliness, a gentle, open conversation about what loneliness means in our community — and how it might spark creative projects that bring us closer.
✨ It’s also a chance to hear about Pecan’s wider work tackling loneliness in Southwark. If this resonates (or might help someone you know), come along. You’re welcome to share, but no pressure to speak.
When: Thursday 10 July, 2:30–4pm
Where: Pecan, 121A Peckham High St, SE15 5SE
Tickets: free. Grab yours here.
Why: because we are not alone.
2 🥁 Carla Prata at Peckham Audio
South London–born and Angolan-Portuguese at heart, Carla Prata delivers R&B with Afro rhythms, switching seamlessly between Portuguese and English. Presented by GAG, known for showcasing rising underground voices. Supporting her are Charlotte Dowsson, with velvet vocals and raw London R&B heat, and BUKKY, Nigerian-Irish and proudly independent, blending lo-fi edges and alt-R&B honesty.
When: Friday 11 July, doors 7pm
Where: Peckham Audio, 133 Rye Ln, SE15 4ST
Tickets: £13.50 – grab yours here
3 🎶 CLF Art Lounge is back with a bang!
The CLF Art Lounge is back, and now it’s bigger, higher, and funkier than ever.
After moving from its beautiful site at Station Way (now making room for a £27m public square by Peckham Rye Station), their new home is on Mountview Theatre with skyline views, roof garden, and even bigger plans for community and culture.
To kick things off, The South London Soul Train is taking over the new venue for a one-night-only preview party on Saturday with a soul-packed lineup that’s set to raise the roof.
🎤 Headliner: the legendary Marva King, Prince collaborator, Motown powerhouse, and soul vocalist of the highest order, will perform live with very special guests.
✨ On deck: Jazzheadchronic, Snowboy, DJ Keith Lawrence, and Marlon Celestine spinning deep soul, rare groove, disco, funk, and straight-up floor-fillers all night.
🪩 It’s more than a party. It’s the beginning of a brand new chapter for CLF Art Lounge. Come help them start it right.
When: Saturday July 12, 10pm–4am
Where: CLF Art Lounge (top floor of Mountview Theatre), 120 Peckham Hill Street, SE15 5JT
Tickets: £10–£20 advance; limited tickets on the door
4 🎓 Gentrification & Black Urban Removal
If you’ve ever wondered how Peckham’s transformation affects the African-Caribbean community (and what comes next), don’t miss this one next week.
As part of the Prince of Peckham University Lectures, Dr Charmaine Brown will break down Peckham’s layered history: from rural farms to civil rights struggles to today’s ‘regeneration’. Expect sharp truths, local stories, and global context, from Brazil to Brixton.
Charmaine knows her stuff. She’s lived here 25 years, fought racism on our high streets, and teaches politics, education and cultural studies at Greenwich. She’s one of the many voices making sure Black history doesn’t get bulldozed alongside local spaces.
When: Tuesday 15 July, 6:30–8:30pm (talk starts at 6:45pm)
Where: Prince of Peckham, 1 Clayton Road, SE15 5JA
Tickets: free. Grab yours here
Why: In a city changing fast, local knowledge is power. This talk’s about knowing where we stand, so we don’t lose what makes Peckham, Peckham.
5 ⚽ Catch the UEFA Women’s Euros LIVE!
The Lionesses are defending their crown, and the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 is in full swing! Whether you want to cheer your team or just in it for the goals, Peckham is roaring. Here's where you can catch all the thrilling action right here in SE15:
🦁 Pubs showing England matches:
🏆 Pubs showing all matches:
🎉 Special screenings
Versus X Jumbi (Watch Party today)
Rooftop Film Club (Semi-Finals and Finals only)
6 📸 Summer in South London Diary
Girls About Peckham is calling on every South London girl to help write a new visual love letter to our ends. ✨ #SummerInSouthLondon is a living photo diary celebrating Black joy, street style, park picnics, secret local hangouts and all the everyday magic that captures real women, real streets, real stories. Show whatever your doing and feeling yourself!
How to get involved:
→ Tag your photos & videos with #girlsaboutpeckham & #SummerInSouthLondon
→ Follow & tag @girlsaboutpeckham
→ Weekly features in July + a printed zine at the end of summer.
7 📽️ At Peckhamplex this week
This week, the Man of Steel soars back onto the big screen with a fresh, fun, and politically charged reboot in Superman: Legacy.
Big hits this week include 28 Years Later (15), F1®: The Movie (12A), M3GAN 2.0 (15), The Ballad of Wallis Island, The Phoenician Scheme and more.
Family treats include Elio (PG), How to Train Your Dragon Live-Action (PG), Lilo & Stitch (PG), and Peppa Meets the Baby Cinema Experience (U)
Subtitled for the hard of hearing (HOH): 28 Years Later (15) on Fri 11 at 3:15pm and The Salt Path (12A) on Mon 14 at 5:35pm
Watch With Baby: Jurassic World: Rebirth (12A) and Superman: Legacy (12A) on Fri 11 at 12:00.
When: check full schedule here.
Where: Peckhamplex, 95a Rye Lane, SE15 4ST
Tickets: just £5.99 every film, every seat, every day.
8 🖼️ Beyond Peckham: Fran Giffard at REJECTS
This July, catch Nunhead-based artist Fran Giffard in two very different settings: one north of the river, and one just down the road.
Fran’s work is part of REJECTS, the brilliantly defiant exhibition now in its third year by Art Friend that celebrates the thousands of artworks passed over by the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition each year: only 1,500 works get into the RA Summer Exhibition. Nearly 18,000 don’t. REJECTS makes space for those overlooked artists, and the results are fantastic.
When: until Sunday July 13, weekdays: 11am–6pm | weekends: 10am–6pm
Where: Stokey Pop-Up, 147 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 0NY
Tickets: free entry – grab your ticket here.
🐦 Prefer to stay local? Come paint birds with Fran in Peckham!
Fran’s also bringing her signature bird-filled world to The Hollydale Tavern for a relaxed and fun Drink & Paint Birds session. Expect watercolours, good vibes, and zero pressure. All levels welcome, materials and guidance provided. For your diary: there will be a children and parent's art class on the 30th of July, and another adult class on 13th of August.
When: Tuesday 16 July, sessions: 5–7pm & 7–9pm
Where: The Hollydale Tavern, 115 Hollydale Road, SE15 2TF
Tickets: book your free spot in advance, and just purchase a drink
⁉️ Did you know?
Back in 1080’s, Peckham was owned by King Henry I and valued at 30 shillings. That’s about £2.500 in today’s money. Not bad for 4 households! (Southwark Heritage Blog)
✨ 5 quick things before you go
✊🏾 Join the protest – @shapecoalition is hosting an Anti-Berkeley Party on Tuesday 15 July at 5:45pm outside Southwark Council offices (160 Tooley Street). A creative action to push back against displacement and dodgy developers.
💃 Move it, Peckham – dance + movement sessions at SET Social with @movementatset every 2nd & 4th Sunday, 2pm–3:30pm. £5–7 sliding scale.
💧 Peckham Community Sauna is closing temporarily from 14 July, but big plans (and permanent steamier days) are on the horizon.
🎯 “This act of vandalism is painful—but it will not silence us”. Join the crowdfunder to restore the Windrush Untold Stories Portraits.
🍹 Seriously Refreshing: this week we visit Pure Cane, where you can get freshly pressed organic sugarcane juice. Make mine with ice and lemon, please!
Photo by Cat at Pure Cane, at 26 Choumert Road
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Thanks for reading, showing up, and making Peckham, Peckham.
See you out there, innit!
Cat 🐾
💌 Peckham.Live will always be FREE for subscribers 💌 But if you insist on supporting my work, you can totally buy me a pint 🍻 but honestly sharing it is already bang on!